


Paris, City of ...

by bumblebeug (Madsmadsmads)



Series: Felinette November 2019 [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Felinette November 2019, Fluff, Gen, Meet-Cute, Prompt vacation, felinette - Freeform, felix is marianne's grandson, miraculous still exists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-01-24 08:48:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21335491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madsmadsmads/pseuds/bumblebeug
Summary: In which Felix Lenoir visits his grandmother, Marianne Lenoir, in Paris from London in order to spend a week of his summer vacation with her at the urging of his parents who are worried about her living in such a dangerous area.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Félix, Master Fu/Marianne Lenoir
Series: Felinette November 2019 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1533356
Comments: 16
Kudos: 247





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, here is my (late) submission to Felinette November's Prompt: Vacation. Hope you all enjoy

Felix leaned his head against the cool glass of the Startrain, annoyed at his parents – if they were so worried about Grandmother Lenoir, then they should have gone to Paris with him instead of cutting into Felix’s vacation time by insisting that _he_ alone visit her for a week.

_At least, _he thought with a sigh, _these new trains cut the travel time in half_.

He sent a quick message to his Grandmother to let her know he was on the way and closed his eyes.

The chime of the Startrain docking into its station woke Felix from his nap, he stretched with a yawn and de-boarded the train. On the platform, he took out his phone

**My beautiful grandson, I’m so glad you’re visiting! I’m currently staying at…**

He compared this address to the one his parent’s supplied him and shook his head thinking, _she must be staying in a hotel_. While it was sweet of her to check in somewhere in the heart of the city for his benefit, she didn’t have to go to such lengths. He had no idea why she would choose to stay in such a dangerous city where she was in constant danger of an ‘akuma attack’, not to mention, where she herself had been akumatized.

Felix knew that part of the reason why his parents didn’t accompany him was a missheld belief that somehow sending their own son into danger would make his grandmother want to come back to London.

In no time at all, he arrived at the address his grandmother had provided him and felt no relief when he saw that she was staying in a massage parlor. _Honestly, couldn’t she have gotten a real hotel room?_ Felix thought as he entered the building.

“Hello,” an elderly man with a slight stoop greeted, “How may I assist you today?”

“I believe my Grandmother, a Marianne Lenoir, has booked a room here – I am her grandson, she should be expecting me,” Felix said.

The old man nodded and motioned for Felix to follow him into another room, “Yes, yes, how lucky – she is having a cup of tea with me in the kitchen.”

“Felix, my dear!” his grandmother exclaimed from her seat and poured a cup of tea, “How was the train? I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to pick you up…these old bones, you know?”

Felix accepted the cup and a side hug from his grandmother, “The train-ride was short with no complications.”

Then in a lower voice he said, “Grandmother, you didn’t have to rent a room in Paris – I would have been perfectly happy to stay at the cottage with you.”

Marianne waved her hand dismissively, “Nonsense, there is nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Felix was startled to notice that the old man had sat down at the table next to his grandmother and held her hand when she placed it on the table.

“As you can see,” Marianne said warmly, “I’m quite happy here with my Fu.”

Felix sat down, hard. In all his imaginings of how his grandmother was doing – and he had to admit, they were few and far between, he had never imagined that his grandmother wanted to stay in Paris because of _love_.

Stubbornness, sure.

Pride, he wouldn’t put it past her.

But love? That was new.

Marianne’s warm laughter rang out at Felix’s expression, sounding like it belonged on a warm sandy beach. In short, sounding like nothing like the laughter he was used to hearing from her. Marianne cleared her throat to make proper introductions,

“Felix, dear, this is Wang Fu.” The old man inclined his head at Felix, which Felix returned. “He and I were… partners during the war.”

Felix’s curiosity outweighed his discomfort and he took a fortifying sip of his tea, “What happened?”

“Oh…you know,” Marianne took her own sip, “Life was complicated back then. I felt like I was needed in London and Fu…well, he felt that he had to stay in France. But what’s important is that we’ve found one another again.”

“I see,” Felix said, feeling as though his grandmother was leaving something out.

A knock sounded at the door. Felix motioned to Mr. Fu that he would get the door saying “Please, please – let me. It’s the least I can do.”

He opened the door.

“Master Fu, I’m sorry I’m late I–,” the girl seemed to realize that Felix wasn’t Master Fu and promptly turned around apologizing, “Sorry, wrong door.”

Before she could walk away, Felix grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around, “Wait! You have the right address he’s…”

He trailed off. Felix had underestimated how close that spin would have pulled her to him and when he looked down, he found himself staring into the bluest eyes he had ever seen. Blushing furiously, he jumped backward as though scalded and avoiding her eyes, jerked a thumb over his shoulder muttering, “Mr. Fu’s in the kitchen.”

~~~~

Hearing the commotion from the kitchen and glimpsing her grandson’s red face, Marianne smiled into her cup of tea and dreamily muttered to herself, “Ah, Paris – the city of love.”


	2. Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the second day of Felix's visit to his grandmother, Marianne Lenoir, and a heatwave has hit the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it would be fun to make a combo day out of Day 6: Roadtrip and Day 7: Couple’s Firsts. This piece can be considered a companion piece to (originally called) Paris, City Of Love (or Felinette November Day 4: Vacation). This takes place during an August heatwave because I am trying to invoke warm feelings (it’s snowing where I am)

Felix groaned and rolled over, it was only 7am and already much too hot to stay in bed. It was only the second day here in France and already Felix wished he were back home though, logically, he was aware that if a heatwave had hit Paris, England probably wasn’t much cooler. Below, he could hear murmurs. _Well, _he thought swinging his feet to the floor, _it can’t be much hotter down there than it is in this room._

Despite his thoughts, his hand hovered over the knob, what if he interrupted their breakfast? While his grandmother _seemed _happy that Felix was visiting, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was holding…something back. What, he had no idea- but it was something to do with Mr. Fu. Perhaps her unwillingness to talk about her relationship was a hint that Felix wasn’t as welcome as his grandmother was pretending. Felix frowned at the door, maybe he should make his excuses and return home – consequences be damned.

Before he could make a decision on what to do a light tap on the door interrupted him.

“Dear, are you up?” Marianne twisted the knob and Felix was forced to step back in order to allow it to open without hitting him, “Good morning darling, bet it was the heat that’s gotten you, hm?”

Mutely, Felix nodded and shuffled slightly away from her reach, not wanting her to ruffle his damp hair.

She smiled, “It’s the humidity’s fault – if it weren’t for that, it wouldn’t feel so hot. You best get dressed though – guests will be arriving soon and you don’t want to get caught out in your jim-jams.”

“Guests?”

“Oh yes, every Saturday my Fu leads a group tai-chi session; you’re welcome to join,” Marianne winked, “That girl from yesterday usually attends with her mother.”

Felix felt his face heat up in embarrassment, “Grandmum, please.”

Marianne smirked as she walked away, “Just thought you ought to know.”

Washing up took no time at all, but Felix found himself paying extra attention to how his hair looked in the mirror, pushing it this way and that.

“Stupid, stupid,” he muttered to himself before giving up and pulling it into its usual look, “I mean honestly, what am I expecting? ‘Oh strange-personal-space-invading boy, I love what you’ve done with your hair.’ Bah.”

In the kitchen, he fixed himself a piece of toast and looked out into the courtyard. As his grandmother had said, there she was – the girl from yesterday, flowing through the motions with an unconscious grace that was at odds with her nervous behaviour yesterday. Not wanting to be caught staring, Felix hurriedly ate his breakfast and retired to the living room to wait out the tai-chi session by reading. _Or at least look like I’m reading_, Felix thought ruefully as he stared blankly at the words on the page. No matter how hard he tried, as soon as he reached the end of one paragraph, he had forgotten what the beginning of the passage said.

“Felix?” A girl’s voice asked him.

He glanced up and nearly through his book to the floor in shock.

“Hi,” she extended a hand toward him, “I’m Marinette; it’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” he managed, shaking her hand in return.

“Your grandmother told me that you’re here visiting and that you wanted to find a way to beat the heat.”

Over her shoulder, Felix met his grandmother’s gaze and narrowed his eyes. She hurried off in the direction of the kitchen.

“Do you have a bike?” Marinette continued talking, oblivious, “If you want, we could go to the Paris-Plages and swim. No one will mind – after tai-chi, all the adults stay and drink tea for a while.”

“Are you sure you won’t be missed? You seemed pretty upset that you were late for something yesterday.”

Marinette waved her hand, “Oh that, I had forgotten that my… guided meditation session had been cancelled because Marianne was visiting.”

Felix cocked his head to the side slightly, Marinette had the same hesitation when it came to talking about Mr. Fu. Why? It briefly crossed his mind to ask her, but he pushed that thought aside – if no one told him, it probably wasn’t his business.

“Alright then,” Felix agreed, “But I don’t have a bike, will that be a problem?”

He felt relieved when Marinette shook her head.

“Just ask Master Fu if you can borrow his, I’m sure he won’t mind.”

Marinette was correct, Mr. Fu was more than happy to lend Felix his bicycle, requesting only that he return it in the condition it was in when he borrowed it. So soon they were off, cycling away to the man-made beaches designed to beat the summer heat.

The artificial breeze on Felix’s face felt good. The fact that he was set to spend an afternoon with Marinette felt better. As they pedaled, Felix and Marinette got better acquainted by trading childhood stories and anecdotes about their families.

“…and then my there was my Dad, desperately miming to the barman that he needed to use the toilette – completely forgetting that the German word and the English word are exactly the same.” Felix laughed at the memory and Marinette nearly crashed her bike, she was laughing so hard.

Suddenly, she looked up and cried, “Andre’s ice-cream!”

Felix pedaled after her, wondering what the big deal was – it was just ice-cream after all.

“Welcome to Andre’s famous ice-cream stand!” Andre boomed jovially, “Ah, I have not seen you before, young man.”

“It’s his first time here!” Marinette squealed excitedly and pushed Felix to the front. As an aside to Felix she whispered, “He has the best ice-cream in Paris. Some even say its magic.”

“Hmm, yes. I know the perfect combination for you!” Andre twirled his scoop, “Spirulina banana blue for her eyes, rhubarb for her lips, and, to garnish, a chocolate-covered cherry for an unexpected surprise.”

“For the lady: coconut ash, a saffron spice with candied lemon like his hair, and a butterfly pea flower just like his ice-blue stare.”

Andre refused all attempts to pay, waving away Felix’s money and proclaiming that new customers never had to pay. With a shrug, Felix turned to see Marinette staring down at her ice-cream with a contemplative look.

“Is something wrong with your ice-cream?” Felix looked at his own dubiously, disliking that not only that he wasn’t allowed to choose his own flavours but that Andre hadn’t even let him pay – not even a tip. He hoped it meant that Andre had profited enough from the hot day to let two sales slid by.

Her head snapped up, “No, nothing is wrong with it. It’s just… not what I expected. Anyways, we’re only a minute or two away so we can walk the rest.”

“Ah, so the road-trip ends,” Felix joked as he licked his cone, surprised at how well the tastes went together. 

“So it does,” Marinette said tilting her head upward pretending to be royalty. Felix smiled.

“Hey. So what is it about Andre’s ice-cream that makes people say its magic?”

“Uh, well…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so that was Chapter 2 of the story that no one asked for but me to myself lol because I like the idea of a meddling grandmothers
> 
> So, the Paris-Plages are a real thing that offers French people and tourists a neat way to swim in the Seine River in the summer - usually, they are created near the Bassin de la Villette. I based the location of Marinette’s house off of the real-life bakery that inspired Tom and Sabine’s. Because Master Fu is within running distance of Marinette’s house that means that she is only a 20ish minute bike ride from the Paris-Plages and I imagine that it is a popular spot for her and her friends in the summer. 
> 
> I have no idea why I went through all the trouble looking this up. 
> 
> Also, side note, coconut ash gelato is my favourite flavour of ice-cream - it’s very slightly gritty and makes the gelato a light grey but it’s basically vanilla with a hint of coconut.


	3. Oo(ps)-Long Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix shares a moment of Master Fu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A mini-part of the Paris, City of … series. Just a small, inconsequential blurb of Felix Lenoir’s time as a guest of Master Fu while visiting his grandmother Marianne Lenoir.

Idly, Felix used his foot to scatch at the bug bite at the center of his calf as he scrubbed at the clay teapot in the sink. He had noticed that this teapot had not once been cleaned after use, but instead given, what looked like to him, a cursory rinse. Politeness had kept him from informing Mr. Fu that his method of cleaning was unsatisfactory. 

“Felix! What are you doing?” Mr. Fu, not quite shouted from the doorway.

“Good morning, Mr. Fu,” Felix greeted, not quite sure why Mr. Fu had such a panicked tone, “I hope you don’t mind, I had noticed that it had been a while since this teapot had a good scrub. Since I was up, I thought I’d lend a hand.”

Moving faster than Felix thought possible, Mr. Fu had shouldered Felix away from the sink, taken the dripping teapot out of his hands, and began to rinse the remaining soap out.

“Felix,” Mr. Fu took in a deep breath through the nose and held it a moment before releasing it, “I am not angry at you, but this is what is called a _yixing_ teapot. It is very old and doesn’t need more than a rinse of boiling water to clean it between uses.”

Mr. Fu gestured to the deep colour of the pot, “You see, once, the clay was unfinished – not glazed – so that the oils from the steeping tea will season and give it flavour. The more you use it, the more complex the flavour of your chosen tea will be.”

His eyes glittered as he held the pot, “That is also why you have only seen me use oolong leaves. Using other teas would muddle the flavour.” He chuckled briefly, “Can you imagine trying to have a white tea in this? The flavour would be completely overridden.”

Felix looked away in embarrassment. It hadn’t been his intention to ruin an antique. Mr. Fu, meanwhile, had petered off and had begun to boil water.

“Felix, would you mind taking the oolong box from the shelf to your right? I’m too lazy to fetch my stepladder at the moment.”

Felix complied and held the box out for Mr. Fu. Their eyes met as their hands touched, “I know that your heart was in the right place.”

“I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you.”

Mr. Fu laughed as he walked back to attend to the tea, “Trouble? You’ve only caused me trouble if you make me drink all of this tea by myself.”

Smiling, Felix walked to the cabinet where he knew the teacups were kept and set the table for two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed. I'm excited that after this Sunday, the temperatures will go above freezing. (My tiny fic about summer is working! It's brought the heat back ...a bit)


	4. Sweets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haven't forgotten about this fic. Happy Valentine's day!

“Ah! Good to see you’re already up, Felix,” Marianne said cheerfully, grabbing her own teacup from the drying rack, “Is there any left for me?”

Fu smiled and lifted the teapot. “Plenty.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Marianne replied as she sat down.

Felix glanced away blushing when his grandmother and Fu leaned in for a morning kiss.

It was so odd, Felix thought, to see his grandmother so happy. Up until this visit – he hadn’t thought that it was even possible.

Growing up, his grandmother always had an air of someone waiting for something and with each minute that something she was waiting for didn’t show up, the more forlorn she got. He had always assumed that it was because she missed Grandpa Alexander, who had died when he was six. It made sense, because his father was generally a happy man, but would sometimes get that way too over small things that would trigger a memory. Where he would just go quiet for a moment; giving a distracted half-smile to no one as if he was reliving a happy memory and saying goodbye to his father all over again at the same time.

Felix wondered how his dad would react to seeing his mother so happy with another man. He hadn’t yet told his parents the specifics on why Marianne was so happy in Paris – just that she was building a new life.

“Felix dear?”

Startled, Felix’s head snapped up at the question.

“Yes?” He replied and took a sip of tea. He grimaced, he’d been so lost in thought that his tea had gone cold.

“I was just saying how nice it would be to get some canelés as tomorrow’s refreshment for our tai-chi session,” Marianne said leadingly.

Felix pushed his cold tea away from him. “I suppose that would be nice,” Felix agreed.

“Great, then it’s settled!” Marianne clapped her hands together, “Tomorrow you’ll go over to the Dupain-Cheng bakery and help out.”

“I – what?” Felix sent his grandmother a baffled look – nowhere in their exchange did Felix agree to anything.

Marianne blinked innocently, “You’ll help out, right? Fu and I will be busy preparing the tai-chi space.”

Felix sighed and nodded. He knew better than to try and win an unwinnable argument – if his grandmother wanted something done, it got done period.

~~~~~~~

The sun had barely touched the sky when his grandmother woke him shook him awake. Felix squinted blearily at his grandmother carefully picking through his clothing.

“…Wha?” was the best his sleep-addled brain could muster.

“C’mon dear, best get up – remember you promised to help the Dupain-Chengs?” Marianne announced over her shoulder, “It’ll reflect poorly on you if you’re late.”

Felix stood and rubbed his eyes with one hand and patting down his hair with the other. Marianne _tched _at his poor attempt at becoming presentable and grabbed a brush from the counter.

“Your hair is getting much too long,” Marianne complained as the brush snagged on a tangle.

The pain on his scalp jogged his brain into wakefulness. “Grandmum, please” he said as he took the brush out of her hands, “I’m not five – I can get ready by myself.”

Marianne arched a delicate brow at his declaration. “Then be quick about it.” She strode out of his room.

~~~

“Ah, you must be Felix! Come in, come in.” Felix found himself ushered into the Dupain-Cheng bakery by the largest man he had ever seen. “Dear, the help is here,” the man called out jovially.

It only clicked that this man was Mr. Dupain when Mrs. Cheng waved from the kitchen doorway.

Felix stared at the empty bakery display, confused. He didn’t see why his grandmother had insisted he go to the bakery so early – tai chi class wouldn’t start for hours. Wasn’t he just here to pick up the canelés?

“It was so nice to hear from Ms. Lenoir that you wanted to help us this morning,” Mr. Dupain went on blithely unaware of Felix’s confusion, “So? What kind of baking experience do you have?”

“Um…none?” Felix answered unsurely.

Mr. Dupain clapped him on the back and laughed, “No worries! We all have to start out somewhere. Enthusiasm is more important anyways in the beginning, is what I always say. Let’s get you an apron and see how you do with measurements.”

Numbly, Felix let himself be lead further into the bakery. When his grandmum had asked him to help out, he didn’t realize that she meant anything more than acting as a delivery boy. He certainly didn’t expect that she volunteered him to _help the whole bloody bakery_.

“Felix, good morning,” Marinette said between breaths, entering the kitchen holding an enormous bag of flour and wearing an equally large smile.

“Here let me help,” Felix said in lieu of a greeting. He scurried over to help share the burden. His hands brushed against hers.

“Thanks,” Marinette said gratefully.

He was so close he could count the freckles on the bridge of her nose if he wanted. He forgot all the reasons he why he was annoyed with his grandmother. 

“No problem, it’s what I’m here for after all.”

**Author's Note:**

> I am really pleased with how this story came out, but it feels incomplete - so I may continue this one at a later date.


End file.
